The Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson and adopted by the Second

Continental Congress, states the reasons the British colonies of North America sought
independence in July of 1776.

The declaration opens with a preamble describing the document's necessity in explaining why
the colonies have overthrown their ruler and chosen to take their place as a separate nation in
the world.

All men are created equal and there are certain unalienable rights that governments should
never violate. These rights include the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. When
a government fails to protect those rights, it is not only the right, but also the duty of the people
to overthrow that government. In its place, the people should establish a government that is
designed to protect those rights. Governments are rarely overthrown, and should not be
overthrown for trivial reasons. In this case, a long history of abuses has led the colonists to
overthrow a tyrannical government.

The King of Great Britain, George III, is guilty of 27 specific abuses. The King interfered with
the colonists' right to self-government and for a fair judicial system. Acting with Parliament,
the King also instituted legislation that affected the colonies without their consent. This
legislation levied taxes on the colonists. It also required them to quarter British soldiers,
removed their right to trial by jury, and prevented them from trading freely. Additionally, the
King and Parliament are guilty of outright destruction of American life and property by their
refusal to protect the colonies' borders, their confiscation of American ships at sea, and their
intent to hire foreign mercenaries to fight against the colonists.

The colonial governments tried to reach a peaceful reconciliation of these differences with
Great Britain, but were continually ignored. Colonists who appealed to British citizens were
similarly ignored, despite their shared common heritage and their just cause. After many
peaceful attempts, the colonists have no choice but to declare independence from Great Britain.

The new nation will be called the United States of America and will have no further connections
with Great Britain. The new government will reserve the right to levy war, make peace, make
alliances with foreign nations, conduct trade, and do anything else that nations do.

The The Declaration of Independence, completed and signed in July of 1776, marked the
official separation between the 13 colonies and Great Britain. An armed struggle between the
colonies and Britain had begun just over a year before, with the Battles of Lexington and
Concord. The formal declaration of independence established the new American revolutionary
government and officially declared war against Great Britain. The primary purpose of the
declaration was to assist the Second Continental Congress in obtaining aid from foreign
countries. The document also clearly outlines the history of abuses the colonists had suffered
under British rule since the end of the French and Indian war in 1763.

Prior to the French and Indian war, the colonists had enjoyed over a hundred years of "salutary
neglect." In other words, although laws were in place to maintain the subordinate status of the
colonies to Great Britain, they were usually not enforced. After the French and Indian war,
which increased Britain's share of North America, King George III and Parliament sought to
establish firm control over the land newly obtained from France, and to help pay war debts by
taxing the colonies. They did this by enacting a number of acts that either taxed the colonists
or placed stricter controls on trade. These laws included the Sugar Act (1764), the Stamp Tax
(1765), the Townshend Acts (1767), and the Tea Act (1773). Additionally, Parliament enacted
the Quartering Act (1765) which forced colonists to help pay for the British military stationed
in the colonies.

Colonists initially protested these acts through peaceful means such as petition, boycott, and
committees. They argued that since they had no representation in Parliament, they could not
be rightfully taxed by Parliament. As their petitions were repeatedly ignored, and taxes
continually added, colonists turned to increasingly more destructive actions, like the Boston
Tea Party of 1774. In response to this rebellious action by the Massachusetts Colony, the King
and Parliament exacted punishment through legislation referred to by colonists as the
"Intolerable Acts."

The Intolerable Acts sparked the colonies to call an inter-colonial congress for the purpose of
discussing a unified response to the King and Parliament. This First Continental Congress, as
it was called, met in September 1774 in Philadelphia. All 13 colonies were present except for
Georgia. The Congress drafted a declaration claiming that the Intolerable Acts were
unconstitutional, that the colonists retained the same civil rights as English citizens, and that
they would boycott all English goods until reconciliation was reached. The negotiations never
happened. Instead, tensions continued to mount between the colonists and Great Britain. The
First Continental Congress agreed to meet again in May 1775 if no reconciliation had been
reached. At this Second Continental Congress, all thirteen colonies were present.

It took 14 months, military mobilization, persuasive pamphleteering, and the further abuse of
colonial rights before all 13 colonies agreed to pursue independence. At issue were political as
well as practical concerns. Upper class colonists tended to fear the lower class gaining too
much power through revolution. Middle class colonists could not afford to see their businesses
continue to decline due to trade restrictions. All colonists resented that the King and Parliament
denied them representative government and their civil rights. However, they also doubted
whether they would be strong enough to resist the British military.

Early in 1776, Thomas Paine published his pamphlet Common Sense, which won over many
colonists to the cause of independence. Meanwhile, the congress had sent the King an Olive-
Branch Petition as a last effort towards reconciliation. Not only did he refuse to respond to the
colonists' plea, he sent an additional 20,000 troops to North America and hired mercenaries
from Germany to bolster his military force. An all-out war seemed imminent and even
moderate delegates realized that in order to obtain much-needed military support from France,
they would have to declare themselves wholly independent from Great Britain. Richard Henry
Lee of Virginia proposed a resolution for independence in June of 1776. The Congress
appointed a committee to draft a declaration of independence that consisted of John Adams
(MA), Benjamin Franklin (PA), Thomas Jefferson (VA), Robert Livingston (NY) and Roger
Sherman (CT).
The job of drafting the Declaration of Independence fell to the youngest member of the
committee, Thomas Jefferson. In composing the declaration, Jefferson drew on ideas from the
Enlightenment, especially those of John Locke. Not only did the declaration represent a
milestone in the history of the United States, it also turned the political philosophies of 18th
century Europe into real political practice.